Meteocat activates the red alert for rains in Barcelona and its metropolitan area: the affected regions and the schedules

To issue an ES-Alert warning in Catalonia, a risk situation justifying warning the population, the intervention of the competent authority, and a message tailored to the purpose of civil protection must concur. It is important to distinguish the sending of preventive information from the adoption of mandatory orders: the latter are subject to additional requirements and are not legitimized simply by appearing on the mobile phone.

1. Existence of a risk and protective purpose

The Law 11/2022, General Telecommunications Law, incorporates the public alert system through mobile services for major disasters or imminent or ongoing emergencies. Meanwhile, Article 12 of the Law 17/2015 establishes the National Alert Network to inform about emergency threats, respecting regional competences.

Therefore, it is not necessary to wait for damages to occur: the warning can be anticipatory. But it must respond to a civil protection threat, not be used as an ordinary administrative communication channel.

2. Competence and coordination

Article 12.4 of Law 17/2015 establishes that regional emergency coordination bodies are the channel to transmit alerts to those concerned and to communicate emergencies to the national coordination center.

The General State Emergency Plan, approved in December 2020, allows the use of mobile phone networks to send warnings directly to people located in affected areas. It also requires notifying the national center of the activation of regional plans in operational situations 1 and 2.

This coordination obligation does not equate to prior state authorization for each message. The decision must fit within the competences and the organization of direction and coordination of the applicable plan.

3. Precise and useful information for affected people

Article 4 of the Catalan Law 4/1997, on civil protection, recognizes the right to know about serious collective risks and requires that those who may be affected receive information and instructions in a broad, precise, and effective manner about safety measures and the conduct they should follow.

Applied to the warning, this requires communicating the danger and protective actions in an understandable way. The territorial delimitation of the sending must relate to the affected area: the state plan precisely contemplates direct communication to those located there.

4. Plan activation and mandatory orders

Activating ES-Alert should not be confused with activating a civil protection plan. The examined provisions do not establish that every informative warning requires, by itself, a prior emergency declaration.

However, Article 8.1 of the Catalan law links the citizen's obligation to follow the instructions and orders of the plan authority to the declaration of its activation. Its sections 2 and 3 add two limits: instructions affecting rights must respect applicable laws, and restrictive measures or personal burdens must be proportional and last only the strictly necessary time.

Article 9 contemplates evacuations, access restrictions, and confinement recommendations. Article 10.3 allows the mayor to declare an emergency and adopt certain measures when the municipality lacks a plan.

In conclusion, ES-Alert is the transmission medium, not an autonomous authorization to restrict rights. To assess a specific sending, the justification of the warning, the competence to decide it, and the legality of the measures communicated must be separated. The consulted sources do not show a specific protocol detailing the internal authorization chain for each sending in Catalonia.

The Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya (SMC) has functions of meteorological observation, forecasting and monitoring, climate information, public advising, and research. Its main framework is the Law 15/2001, on Meteorology, especially its articles 4 and 12 to 14, developed by the statutes approved through Decree 86/2024.

Competence framework and nature

Article 144.5 of the Statute of Autonomy, reproduced in the decree preamble, assigns the Generalitat its own meteorological service, the provision of meteorological and climate information, forecasting and monitoring of risks, research, and climate mapping.

The SMC is a public law entity with its own legal personality, attached to the department competent in environment. The law considers meteorological information and advising a public service; its functions must be exercised with coordination, efficiency, and economic efficiency.

Observation, forecasting, and information management

Article 4 of the law and Article 2 of the statutes entrust it with:

• Managing and maintaining the Xemec, the Generalitat's meteorological equipment network, and processing, exploiting, and disseminating its data.
• Managing the documentary archive from the previous meteorological service and maintaining Catalonia's meteorological database.
• Programming, implementing, and managing the system for forecasting and monitoring meteorological phenomena, as well as exploiting and disseminating its results in Catalonia.
• Participating in the preparation of climate mapping and conducting studies to improve meteorological and climate knowledge.

Risks and civil protection

It must forecast, monitor, and follow dangerous meteorological situations, including those related to sea state, according to the 2024 statutes. This work is carried out in coordination with the Centre de Coordinació Operativa de Catalunya (CECAT), according to civil protection plans and through warnings directed to those who may be affected.

When dangerous situations are foreseen, it must provide permanent official meteorological advice to administrations and institutions competent in civil protection. Article 12 obliges Generalitat bodies and entities to request the necessary information for emergencies and civil protection, without excluding that received from other competent authorities.

Climate, environment, and knowledge

• Promote meteorological and climatological research, develop products and services, and organize training and dissemination.
• Study climate change in Catalonia, collaborate with research groups, and advise public bodies, coordinating with those competent in this matter.
• Assist administrations in monitoring and forecasting atmospheric pollution episodes.
• Analyze and monitor stratospheric ozone and inform the population, according to the law. The statutes expressly add operational monitoring and forecasting of the ultraviolet index through measurements and models.

Public service, cooperation, and limits

The SMC supplies information to administrations, institutions, and public and private entities. The Generalitat uses its data in territorial planning, urbanism, public works, agriculture, natural resources, and environment. Meteorological information is public, with legal confidentiality exceptions and applicable agreements.

It can collaborate with the state meteorological authority and with regional, European, and international institutions through agreements that avoid duplications. The law foresees coordinating networks and data with the state ones. Finally, it can provide support services for air navigation, but requires state certification and designation: the normative attribution alone does not imply it can exercise them.

Several autonomous communities have responded to torrential rains with flood emergency plans, mass mobile alerts, class suspensions, preventive evacuations, and activity restrictions. The important distinction is that the meteorological red alert informs of the expected danger; Civil Protection authorities decide the protective measures. Additionally, some actions have been adopted with orange alerts, without waiting for the red level.

Examples of adopted measures

• Andalusia: evacuations and service suspensions. In the November 2024 episode, the Junta activated the emergency phase of the Flood Risk Emergency Plan (PERI). Preventive evacuations were agreed upon along the Guadalhorce in Álora, Cártama, Alhaurín de la Torre, Pizarra, and Málaga, later extended to Campanillas. Classes were also suspended throughout Málaga province and in certain areas of Granada, as well as activities in day centers and for people with disabilities dependent on the Junta. There were bus interruptions and healthcare adaptations to preserve urgent care. Junta statement.
• Catalonia: INUNCAT and territorial messages. On September 29, 2026, Civil Protection activated the INUNCAT plan and sent an ES-Alert message to 14 coastal and pre-coastal counties. Instructions requested reducing travel and avoiding flood-prone areas, especially rivers, streams, and torrents. This is an example of communication directed to specific territories, not necessarily the entire community. The episode also recorded railway and road impacts. Demócrata information.
• Illes Balears: differentiated operational levels by island. During the DANA Alice, on October 11, 2025, the Government activated INUNBAL at operational situation 2 in Ibiza and Formentera, 1 in Mallorca, and 0 in Menorca. It issued ES-Alert messages for the Pitiusas and certain areas of Mallorca, while maintaining the METEOBAL orange alert. Recommendations included avoiding travel, basements, and garages, and staying in high areas of homes. Previously, on October 8, it had announced the suspension of classes the next day in Ibiza and Formentera. INUNBAL activation and educational suspension.
• Region of Murcia: closure of educational and social centers. Facing rains forecast for October 10, 2025, the regional government canceled activities from 10:00 a.m. in these centers in Campo de Cartagena, Mazarrón, and several districts of Murcia. The decision accompanied the activation of the INUNMUR plan and coordination with mayors to reduce exposure and travel. Measures in Murcia.
• Galicia: mobile alerts and school transport. On January 25, 2026, the Xunta sent an ES-Alert to the interior of Pontevedra and suspended classes and school transport the following Monday in educational centers and nurseries in that area. The message recommended avoiding unnecessary travel and staying away from rivers and flood-prone areas. Xunta measures.
• Community of Madrid: anticipation and hydrological monitoring. With storm Jana, it activated INUNCAM on March 6, 2025. The device allowed planning based on river and reservoir situations, coordinating with municipalities, and informing the population to avoid flood zones and reduce travel. Regional information.

In short, there is no automatic equivalence between red alert and general closure: responses are graded according to territory and risk, and a mobility recommendation must be distinguished from an express prohibition.